The Amazing Sony A1/A7/A9/APS-C & Anything else welcome Mega Thread!

[snerkler]

Look what's just turned up. Job sheet says SY Compl (so it sounds like yet another motherboard ) and NP-Z100/JCE service. In box it there's a battery box with a label saying new battery in the box. I can't see how it can be a battery issue when it's played up with 3 different batteries, unless of course one battery causes the fault and then the other batteries don't rectify it and so it appears as though they don't work either

 

[Gandalf]

TTArtisan 50mm f2 Lens.​

Does anyone use the above on either a full frame or APS-C Sony body ? I’ve never used one before but am interested in trying one.

 

[Faldrax]

Never

Quite right, electronic waste should always be properly recycled, not just sent to landfill

 

[f/1.2]

Look what's just turned up. Job sheet says SY Compl (so it sounds like yet another motherboard ) and NP-Z100/JCE service. In box it there's a battery box with a label saying new battery in the box. I can't see how it can be a battery issue when it's played up with 3 different batteries, unless of course one battery causes the fault and then the other batteries don't rectify it and so it appears as though they don't work either

View attachment 435457View attachment 435458

Can't imagine that they can service a battery, maybe that relates to something else, hopefully you get it back soon and in full working order.

 

[the_accidental]

Weird 'anomoly' with my A7RV files, if I shoot in crop (APS-C) mode Mac preview can't open the files and finder does not show the image in the thumbnail, preview has no issue opening the files shot in full frame and finder also shows the image in the thumbnail with these. Lightroom has no issue with them, but you can't see them in preview/finder to know which files you're transferring off the card. Has anyone else found this and know of a solution?

I'm running Mac OS Ventura 13.7

Raw or HEIF? I don’t see this but normally shoot HEIF (which has other issues but I’ll not de-rail the topic).

 

[the_accidental]

Can't imagine that they can service a battery, maybe that relates to something else, hopefully you get it back soon and in full working order.

Batteries have firmware and controller circuits, voltage regulation etc in them. So there is stuff it could be in there.

 

[snerkler]

Can't imagine that they can service a battery, maybe that relates to something else, hopefully you get it back soon and in full working order.

Err, my post showed that I've got the camrea back


The battery's been replaced

Raw or HEIF? I don’t see this but normally shoot HEIF (which has other issues but I’ll not de-rail the topic).

Raw, I only shoot raw. What's odd is that shots taken on the A1 in APS-C mode show fine so it's clearly something in the A7R V crop files that's not 'registering' for some reason.

 

[woof woof]

TTArtisan 50mm f2 Lens.​

Does anyone use the above on either a full frame or APS-C Sony body ? I’ve never used one before but am interested in trying one.

Yup. I have one and use it on my A7. I've posted quite a few pictures taken with it and commented on its performance.

What would you like to know?

 

[Gandalf]

Hi Allan,

I was looking at the Sigma f1.4 Art lens to fit in with my kit. However, I’m going to pick up the a6700 and want to pair it with a nifty fifty.

How good are the pictures and what’s the auto focus like, or are they manual lenses?

 

[the_accidental]

I've been looking for a manual 50mm f1.8 or f2 in Sony mount.

Apart from the fact they won't be cheap...and might not have clicky rings... most cine primes will be MF and there are lots in sony mount.

The voigtlander f/2 isn't _that_ big though is it? Not sure much will be smaller.

Have you looked at Kipon? E.g. https://alikgriffin.com/handevision-50mm-f2-4-review-sample-photos/

 

[woof woof]

Apart from the fact they won't be cheap...and might not have clicky rings... most cine primes will be MF and there are lots in sony mount.

The voigtlander f/2 isn't _that_ big though is it? Not sure much will be smaller.

Have you looked at Kipon? E.g. https://alikgriffin.com/handevision-50mm-f2-4-review-sample-photos/

The Kipon looks interesting but not at f2.4 and the oil on the blades issue is also a worry.

I like compact kit and to me the Voigtlander 50mm f2 is getting to be on the large side. I prefer the 35mm f1.4. I suppose what I really want is the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 in 50mm form or the TTA 50mm f2 with its more glaring issues reduced.

 

[woof woof]

How about the Sigma iSeries 50mm F2? Fits a lot of your requirements although relatively heavy for the specs.

I'm ideally looking for a compact MF lens.

 

[ancient_mariner]

You could just buy a used Sony/Minolta 50 and add it with a manual adapter. The lenses are small, f stop control through the adapter, sorted

 

[the_accidental]

Decided I'll keep my 1.4 and sell my 1.7, but not got around to doing anything about it yet.... that said I don't like it's MF action, a little sticky one end.

They are light, but not that small with the adapter on. Comparable to my Nikon series E 50/1.8 which is tiny and a lovely MF experience.

Work through the list here?

https://alikgriffin.com/sony-fe-lenses-the-ultimate-list/

 

[woof woof]

You could just buy a used Sony/Minolta 50 and add it with a manual adapter. The lenses are small, f stop control through the adapter, sorted

I don't fancy that and it's an adapted lens again. I have film era 50's but by the time an adapter is added they're the size of the Voigtlander 50mm f2 and nowhere near as good.

I was just looking for a compact Sony mount manual focus 50mm but there're aren't too many around and some are clickless and I don't want a clickless lens. The TTA 50mm f2 is tiny and lovely to use but it is in reality a poor lens even compared to lenses like the Minolta Rokkor 50mm f1.7. The Syoptic 50mm f1.1 is a much better lens than the TTA f2 but its the size of the Voigtlander 50mm f2 and again nowhere near as good.

There is the Loxia but I don't like the modern styling and the handling would put me off.

I'll give up. I'll use the TTA f2 and the Voigtlanders and try not to complain.

 

[the_accidental]

Anything M mount small enough? Smaller adapter.

 

[LeeRatters]

Anything M mount small enough? Smaller adapter.

Crap extreme corners isn't it @woof woof

 

[woof woof]

Crap extreme corners isn't it @woof woof

I think other problems with these include the age and condition. I think it's getting hard to spot things at reasonable prices and in reasonable condition. Looking on ebay some look nothing short of shabby and have likely been through multiple and probably uncaring hands over the decades.

I had decided not to go for any more cheap Sony mount Chinese / far eastern new name lenses after my debacles with that disgraceful Artralab and to a much lesser extent the Pergear but it's only these new makes that are bringing out this sort of lens so if the likes of 7Artisans or TTA bring something out I might take a look but until then I think I'll give up looking and just use the film era ones I have or the Sony mount TTA 50mm f2 or the bigger and heavier Voigtlanders.

 

[the_accidental]

What about Meyer-Optik, not cheap, but also not far east?

Lenses

Our lenses are characterized by highest quality and unique bokehs. Create photographs with an individual look and stand out from the crowd!

www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com

 

[woof woof]

What about Meyer-Optik, not cheap, but also not far east?

Lenses

Our lenses are characterized by highest quality and unique bokehs. Create photographs with an individual look and stand out from the crowd!

www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com

I don't think the wild bokeh is for me and it's f2.8 not f1.8/2.

 

[the_accidental]

They have some faster 58s, or is that getting a bit long?

 

[woof woof]

They have some faster 58s, or is that getting a bit long?

Yup. I was specifically looking for a 50mm f1.8 or f2.

I've given up now I've checked the Pergear site which includes TTA, 7A and others and all the other usual subjects I can think of and there's nothing there.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

What about Meyer-Optik, not cheap, but also not far east?

Lenses

Our lenses are characterized by highest quality and unique bokehs. Create photographs with an individual look and stand out from the crowd!

www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com

Crumbs, those prices are a little unexpected!

In the 1960s, Meyer Optik were the cheap alternatives to the Carl Zeiss range, for Pentacon/Praktica cameras. If I remember correctly, these donkeys were recorded with a Domigor 135mm / f4 on a Praktica Nova 1, through a car window...

 

[the_accidental]

Meyer Optik were the cheap alternatives to the Carl Zeiss range

I mean, those prices are still a cheap alternative to CZ... have you seen Zeiss prices?!

EDIT: actually the Loxia aren't too bad.

 

[woof woof]

I never liked the design of the Loxias. Besides there not being anything to grip when mounting and unmounting the lens and the aperture ring not being very distinctive the styling just looks so bland to me. To me the Sony mount Voigtlanders look so much nicer and IMO the handling is just in a different league.

 

[the_accidental]

Well, I guess just wait and see if anything new comes out, you succumb to the 50/2.5, or move to Leica

Alternatively, speaking of Zeiss lenses, I've been carrying the 80mm on medium format about lately (similar FOV to 50), I can tell you anything on a Sony feels light and compact after that

 

[snerkler]

Well I don't think my A1 is fixed. I've already had one episode where it's not turned on, after 5 minutes of leaving it swtiched on it turned itself on and I got the message "Body Update Complete" again. This is what happened last time and then it sporadically locked up several times but never displayed that message again. I'll see how it goes and if it locks up again it'll be going back to Sony with a very snotty letter. Whilst I've not had to pay for the repair it's costing me £22 each time I send it back in postage due to the insurance.

It's clearly not the motherboard, and now the battery has been eliminated as the cause so what else could it be? Could it be something as daft as a firmware bug that's showing itself in my A1 because of the settings I use and how I've set it up with my "my menu" content etc? It wouldn't surprise me with the cockups in Sony A1 and A7RV firmwares lately.

I've videoed it this time so they can see the time it takes to come back to life. Clearly a very boring video as it's 5 minutes of nothing happening

 

[woof woof]

I think they should give you a new one. They're clearly struggling to fix it.

 

[the_accidental]

it be something as daft as a firmware bug that's showing itself in my A1 because of the settings I use

Well if you reset the camera to factory settings and just use it like that, can you reproduce the errors?

 

[snerkler]

I think they should give you a new one. They're clearly struggling to fix it.

That would be nice but as it’s from Panamoz I’m not sure they will.

Well if you reset the camera to factory settings and just use it like that, can you reproduce the errors?

That’ll be my next test if it plays up again

 

[snerkler]

Does anyone know if you can buy stickers to mark the top dial on the A7RV as an exp comp dial like it used to be on Sony bodies? I like to be able to see what the exp comp is without looking at the screen/lcd.

 

[nandbytes]

Does anyone know if you can buy stickers to mark the top dial on the A7RV as an exp comp dial like it used to be on Sony bodies? I like to be able to see what the exp comp is without looking at the screen/lcd.

Not sure marking makes any sense tbh.
Unlike previous models it's generic dial that spins forever. The old exposure compensation dial had hard stops at either end.

 

[Icee]

Well I don't think my A1 is fixed. I've already had one episode where it's not turned on, after 5 minutes of leaving it swtiched on it turned itself on and I got the message "Body Update Complete" again. This is what happened last time and then it sporadically locked up several times but never displayed that message again. I'll see how it goes and if it locks up again it'll be going back to Sony with a very snotty letter. Whilst I've not had to pay for the repair it's costing me £22 each time I send it back in postage due to the insurance.

It's clearly not the motherboard, and now the battery has been eliminated as the cause so what else could it be? Could it be something as daft as a firmware bug that's showing itself in my A1 because of the settings I use and how I've set it up with my "my menu" content etc? It wouldn't surprise me with the cockups in Sony A1 and A7RV firmwares lately.

I've videoed it this time so they can see the time it takes to come back to life. Clearly a very boring video as it's 5 minutes of nothing happening

You don’t seem to be having much luck with that camera.

 

[snerkler]

Not sure marking makes any sense tbh.
Unlike previous models it's generic dial that spins forever. The old exposure compensation dial had hard stops at either end.

If using it as an Exp Comp dial you’ll not be turning it all the way around and it would be a handy (for me) visual reference. I understand that it could get knocked whilst the camera is off and so the numbers won’t line up but this is unlikely if you use the lock ‘properly’, but if you did you could always recalibrate it.

One thing I have read is that you can setup the camera so that the exp comp zero’s out when you turn the camera off rather than maintaining the previous set comp which I will do as at least I know I’m starting at zero every time

 

[snerkler]

You don’t seem to be having much luck with that camera.

Yeah it’s turned into a bit of a lemon unfortunately. I do think it’s poor that Sony haven’t fixed it on two attempts.

 

[woof woof]

What do you think guys?

 

[the_accidental]

One thing I have read is that you can setup the camera so that the exp comp zero’s out when you turn the camera off r

Do you know where this setting is? Had a look on my Cii and couldn't find anything like this, which is a shame it'd be handy.

 

[JohnMcL7]

Using the A7R V it’s made me realise how spoilt ‘we’ are these days. Shooting at 8fps feels extremely pedestrian (10 fps doesn’t show a real time view) and the blackout is rather distracting, however I coped perfectly well when I had my D750 (6.5fps with blackout) or the A7R IV which has the same continuous shooting as the A7R V

I had similar thoughts when I went back to the D750 when needing to use the 70-200mm F2.8 I only had in that mount, I used the camera for a decent amount of sports shooting and had been impressed with the AF performance. However the blackout makes tracking the subject much trickier and now I find the constant 'clack-clack-clack' in burst shooting irritating when I'm used to complete silence.

There's a topic in another part of the forum which has been started by someone suggesting that mirrorless cameras are pointless and simply created to sell more cameras which I very much disagree with. As much as I liked my various DSLRs I've been mainly using mirrorless cameras because of their various advantages. I find it amazing now how quickly and consistently I can get the shots I want.

With regards to your A1 I'm sorry to hear you're still having problems with it and I know it's all the more frustrating when you have an issue that can't seem to be repaired. I've no idea what the internal hardware layout of these cameras are but I know with other electronics that components outwith the mainboard can cause major errors. It would be good to confirm the error still happens at factory default settings as I see you're already considering.

 

[snerkler]

I had similar thoughts when I went back to the D750 when needing to use the 70-200mm F2.8 I only had in that mount, I used the camera for a decent amount of sports shooting and had been impressed with the AF performance. However the blackout makes tracking the subject much trickier and now I find the constant 'clack-clack-clack' in burst shooting irritating when I'm used to complete silence.

There's a topic in another part of the forum which has been started by someone suggesting that mirrorless cameras are pointless and simply created to sell more cameras which I very much disagree with. As much as I liked my various DSLRs I've been mainly using mirrorless cameras because of their various advantages. I find it amazing now how quickly and consistently I can get the shots I want.

With regards to your A1 I'm sorry to hear you're still having problems with it and I know it's all the more frustrating when you have an issue that can't seem to be repaired. I've no idea what the internal hardware layout of these cameras are but I know with other electronics that components outwith the mainboard can cause major errors. It would be good to confirm the error still happens at factory default settings as I see you're already considering.

Yeah I saw that thread, I don't think it's (the title) is true at all, I think they're pushing technology and mirrorless has pushed it on and undoubtedly made cameras better (preference for OVF withstanding). I definitely don't think the A7RV will be an action camera for me, as you say the blackout doesn't help and the shutter sound is annoying.

It will be intersting to see if the A1 continues to play up, if it does I will reset it although I'll not be able to use it in complete factory settings as I don't like the touchscreen enabled and I'd have to change the AF mode. However I won't set up my menu or function menu or custom key settings.

 

[woof woof]

There's a topic in another part of the forum which has been started by someone suggesting that mirrorless cameras are pointless and simply created to sell more cameras which I very much disagree with. As much as I liked my various DSLRs I've been mainly using mirrorless cameras because of their various advantages. I find it amazing now how quickly and consistently I can get the shots I want.

Back when I had my Canon 20D even I managed to work out that there was something iffy going on with the focus. Back then it actually said on Canon's website that if you took three pictures there'd be focus differences between them and this was normal and that's before micro adjust became a thing and something else to obsess over. The accuracy and consistency of focus in itself is justification enough for mirrorless, IMO.

Anyone arguing against mirrorless has little firm ground IMO, other than the OVF v EVF thing but in the vast majority of instances I think there's little cause to complain. I think evf's are only an issue in niche situation.